Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Kelpie Geosciences in the U.K. recently caught some amazing video footage of a terrifying deep-sea squid that flashed a pair of brilliant “headlights” at the moment it goes in for the kill.  The scientists dropped a free-fall camera baited with mackerel just north of the Samoan Passage in the South Pacific. As the camera sank to the bottom, it was attacked by a Taningia danae—also known as the Dana octopus squid at a depth of around 3,366 feet. “As we were reviewing the footage, we realized we had captured something very rare ..read more

The trapped container ship Dali will “hopefully” be refloated this week after authorities set off charges at a key portion of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Monday evening, an official said. The charges helped demolish a portion of the bridge wreckage resting on the ship – a move meant to help free the vessel, nearly seven weeks after it struck the bridge and caused the span to collapse. During the planned detonation, a chunk of the collapsed structure appeared to fall away from the ship and into the water, though a portion of wreckage remained on top of the s ..read more

An updated repost appropriate for Mother’s Day. Sailors choose their tattoos for various reasons. Among the most popular sailor tattoos are anchors, hearts, and swallows.  Not infrequently, “Mom” also appeared as a reminder of loved ones and home.  On Mother’s Day, it seems worthwhile to look at sailors’ tattoos that remind them of “Mom.” Remy Melina, in the Live Science blog, writes about the popularity of “I Love Mom” tattoos:  The “I Love Mom” tattoo first became popular during World War II. As they traveled around the world, U.S. Navy sailors got tattoos to document their ac ..read more

Tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch Wednesday in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris. The flame arrived after a 12-day trip from Greece onboard the Belem, a 128-year-old three-masted barque that once transported sugar from France’s colonies in the West Indies. Reuters reports that the torch was brought to land by Florent Manaudou, France’s 2012 Olympic men’s 50 metres freestyle swimming champion, who handed it to Paralympic athlete Nantenin Keita, a 400 metres gold medallist at the Rio Games in 2016. Sh ..read more

On Saturday, May 4, the cruise ship MSC Meraviglia arrived at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York Harbor dragging the carcass of a 44-foot-long endangered sei whale, caught on the ship’s bulbous bow. Sei whales are endangered and are typically observed in deeper waters far from the coastline. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating this incident. The whale was relocated and towed to shore at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to allow for better access to heavy equipment and resources to conduct a necropsy. According to the New York Times, results of a preliminary investigation show broken ..read more

Still catching-up on interesting nautical news that transpired while I away. We would be remiss to not offer our belated congratulations to Skipper Heather Thomas and the crew of the yacht Maiden, who beat 14 other teams to win the Ocean Globe Race on IRC handicap, becoming the first ever all-women crew to win an around-the-world yacht race. The former Whitbread yacht, sailed by an international crew took the title after 153d 2h 16m 53s of racing around the world. Virtually none of the crew had previously faced such an epic challenge and only one had sailed in the Southern Ocean before. ‘It’s ..read more

One of the world’s busiest shipping channels is closed to traffic in both directions after Alexis, an 81,623 dwt bulk carrier, ran aground in the Bosporus Strait, connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The Alexis is carrying food products from Ukraine to Egypt.  The bulker experienced machinery failure, resulting in grounding near the Haydarpasa breakwater shallow water area during its passage through the Bosporus Strait towards the Sea of Marmara. No pollution has been reported. Four tugs, a fast rescue boat and divers have been sent to the incident, which a Lloyd’s List casualty ..read more

In the last week or so, over 1,000 sea lions have hauled out on San Francisco’s Pier 39, K-Dock, the largest assembly of the boisterous pinnipeds in roughly 15 years. As noted on the Pier 39 website: A few California sea lions began “hauling out” on Pier 39’s K-Dock shortly after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco in October 1989. By January 1990, the boisterous barking pinnipeds started to arrive in droves and completely took over K-Dock, much to the exasperation of Pier 39’s Marina tenants. The Marina Staff turned to The Marine Mammal Center, an organization devoted to the rescue a ..read more

I have been away for the better part of a month on a transatlantic sail from Barbados to Malta on a five-masted square rigger. (Click here for a short video of the ship under sail.) I had limited internet access during the trip, so I am behind on posting. I appreciate the support of readers in forwarding news of interest while I was away. I plan to work in these “catch-up” posts over the next week or two. Here is the first. Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for passing along the story of the attempted theft of the historic fireboat John J. Harvey. Around 2:30 AM on April 11th, Juan Hernandez, 22, rep ..read more

A short video of the Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey on the blocks in drydock at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.  As noted by the New York Times, no other U.S. battleship served in more military campaigns. Christened on the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1942, she went on to earn 19 battle stars during 21 years of active service. Roughly 45,000 sailors and Marines served on her decks in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Lebanese Civil War and the Iran-Iraq Tanker War. After an illustrious career, she was retired as a museum ship in Camden, NJ i ..read more